Can a '79, 49 state compliant, x1/9 be modified to pass CA smog?

T

Torgo

Low Mileage
I have a 1979 X1/9 lined up for purchase but it is not originally a CA car and is 49 state compliant instead of CA compliant. I was hoping to do an engine swap in an effort to make the car more reliable and pass CA emissions. Unfortunately, engine swaps don't seem to be compliant either, for the most part.

Have any CA owners dealt with this problem? Were you able to modify or replace the engine with something that has passed CA smog?

Thank you for any assistance.
 
A 49 state car is only required to meet original 49 state requirements. If you want a nice project, wait until a '74 or '75 smog exempt car comes up. Any swap must meet requirements of the year of the engine, not the car. The engine can be a later model, but not earlier than the year of the car. It must meet ALL requirements including evaporative systems, original OEM cats, etc. of the car it came out of. Because of very tight packaging, an X is not a good swap candidate, and no, a K20 will never get through a visual inspection even though it may run as clean as the Honda it came out of. A '79 is now 43 years old so use caution as getting that through smog will not be a walk in the park.
 
Torgo said:
I have a 1979 X1/9 lined up for purchase but it is not originally a CA car and is 49 state compliant instead of CA compliant. I was hoping to do an engine swap in an effort to make the car more reliable and pass CA emissions. Unfortunately, engine swaps don't seem to be compliant either, for the most part.

Have any CA owners dealt with this problem? Were you able to modify or replace the engine with something that has passed CA smog?

Thank you for any assistance.
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Did you buy the silver '79 off of BAT?

If so, that car should have a pretty easy time of getting through the CA system. It looked to have all its requisite parts.

As Jimmyx stated the car needs to meet the requirements per the year and place it was sold to.
 
It took me a year or so to get my '76 to pass smog in CA when I was still living there, and even then it only passed because the guy who did the visual inspection didn't quite know what he was looking at. The actual emissions numbers were well within spec, but my car had a head without some sort of smog port, if I remember right. That was 20+ years ago now.

Used to be that there was a loophole with classic vehicle registration, where you'd never be called in for a smog test. I ran a modified '79 124 Spider with that reg for years and it saved me a lot of hassle. That car resides with a new owner in Jamaica now.

My dad's '76 X1/9 was a 49 state car but it was able to pass legitimately when it was still running back in the '90s, so hopefully you won't have too much hassle.
 
kmead said:
Looks great! Any engine pics the seller gave you?

Congrats and welcome
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Yes, I have a few pictures of the engine and bay. The car has a bit of rust under the windshield and on a rocker panel. Overall it's in good shape, but the seller doesn't know if it is operable. I believe they pushed the clutch in and it went to the floor. Could be a cylinder issue or cable. No idea, but I don't believe he has tried running it.


@jimmyx If this car has all the original 49 state compliant equipment and I get it running using the original equipment, would that make it CA compliant as well?
 
Torgo said:
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Yes, I have a few pictures of the engine and bay. The car has a bit of rust under the windshield and on a rocker panel. Overall it's in good shape, but the seller doesn't know if it is operable. I believe they pushed the clutch in and it went to the floor. Could be a cylinder issue or cable. No idea, but I don't believe he has tried running it.


@jimmyx If this car has all the original 49 state compliant equipment and I get it running using the original equipment, would that make it CA compliant as well?
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Yes it is a clutch master cylinder and likely a slave cylinder issue. One of the worst jobs to have to do on an X, boy you are jumping right in :)

You are missing some stuff, not major stuff in regards to emissions. The filler in the hose on the second image shouldn’t be there, the hose should be going to the air intake.

I will grab some pics of the BAT car so you can see how it should look.
 
Torgo said:
Overall it's in good shape, but the seller doesn't know if it is operable. I believe they pushed the clutch in and it went to the floor. Could be a cylinder issue or cable. No idea, but I don't believe he has tried running it.
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These cars' hydraulic systems don't like sitting, there's probably a new clutch master/slave in your future, but both are fairly inexpensive. Brakes will likely need similar attention, but all parts are available and fairly affordable compared to many other classic cars.

Nearly all of my Fiats and Lancias have needed this work done, a few just after buying them.
 
There are two parts to the CA smog inspection for old cars like your 1979. The first is visual inspection:
- make sure that all the original smog equipment is properly hooked up and functioning. This includes air injection, Evaporative emission system, EGR and catalyst. On many old Fiats, this equipment was stripped off and tossed to "unclutter" the engine compartment.
Any plugged vacuum ports, hoses that lead to nowhere and unplugged electrical connectors or senders are an immediate tip off to the inspector that the car has been 'tampered' with. On my last smog inspection on the orange 1976 X (pictured) the inspector noted a dangling connector near the rear of the intake manifold. (oops, I forgot to check) I told him that was for the air conditioner (which my car never had). Your 1979 may have EGR exhaust gas recirculation. If it does, make sure it works.

The second is the dynamic test on the rolling road. They check idle emissions and emissions at 2500 rpm. If your car has anything but the stock USA 'smog' camshaft, it is likely to obviously fail the idle emissions test. If you have a sound engine and a new catalyst, you will pass the emissions test. If you have a freshly, rebuilt engine with a stock cam and new catalyst, the inspector may say something like he said to me, " I have never tested a 70s car that was as emissions clean as this."
 
Thank you all for the responses! So it seems my only option is to try to get the car running with all original stock equipment. I am unable to change the engine to something newer and more reliable if I want to pass CA checks.
 
Technically the car will need all of the original Calif smog spec equipment for that year to get a emissions certificate. And in '79 Fiat had to add equipment to the Calif spec X's that was not on the 49 state models. The Calif referee has a list of all the needed equipment for every year, make, and model. So the only legal way to pass the visual inspection is to have everything a Calif '79 X had in '79.....NOT a 49 state spec. And that equipment is a mess.

There are some less-than-legal ways to get around it. Otherwise if you buy the car and really want to make it '79 Calif spec smog legal then contact me. I have everything that came off of a Calif '79 X engine. But it will be a big job.

This is why post '74 cars are not sought after in Calif if they are not bone stock original and already certified emissions legal in the state.
 
Torgo said:
Thank you all for the responses! So it seems my only option is to try to get the car running with all original stock equipment. I am unable to change the engine to something newer and more reliable if I want to pass CA checks.
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If you can get it running and driving, you can then sell it for more than you paid and move on to the next X that better fits your needs. I am on my 8th or 9th X.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
visual inspection is to have everything a Calif '79 X had in '79.....NOT a 49 state spec
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49 state is no issue as long as the vehicle was not sold new in Cali and was brought into the state as a used car with 7,500 or more miles on the odo.
Torgo said:
If this car has all the original 49 state compliant equipment and I get it running using the original equipment, would that make it CA compliant as well?
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Yes.
 
Torgo said:
Thank you all for the responses! So it seems my only option is to try to get the car running with all original stock equipment. I am unable to change the engine to something newer and more reliable if I want to pass CA checks.
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Unfortunately yes, engine mods/swaps on anything after 1975 in California is a non starter.
 
There is nothing inherently 'more reliable' if you know how to fastidiously restore your 79 X like it is a Ferrari formula one engine.
 
My engine came out of a 49 state '79. It used a simple reed valve setup for the air injection. The CA '79 uses an air pump for the air injection. The pump may be hard for them to miss.
 
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